Shibi-jinja, Shinto shrine in Takano, Izumi, Japan
Shibi-jinja is a Shinto shrine in the Takanoe district of Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture, formerly called Shibi Gongen and ranked as a prefectural shrine. It enshrines the three deities of the Hyuga cycle: Ninigi-no-Mikoto, Hohodemi-no-Mikoto and Ugayafukiaezu-no-Mikoto. The shrine stands at the foot of Mount Shibi, the mountain that gave it its name.
The shrine's founding date is unknown. Its original sanctuary stood near the summit of Mount Shibi and repeatedly collapsed in storms, so it was divided into two lower shrines, one here and one in Shibi, Satsuma. In 866 the deity Shibi no Kami was promoted from junior sixth rank to junior fifth rank, and in 1872 the shrine was designated a prefectural shrine.
The shrine's autumn festival on 23 September features the Hyōroku Odori, a dance designated a folk cultural property by Kagoshima Prefecture. It dramatizes the tale of Ōishi Hyōroku, a Satsuma retainer who drove out a fox. The shrine was formerly called Shibi Gongen, and its deities are the three generations of Hyūga: Ninigi-no-Mikoto, Hikohohodemi-no-Mikoto and Ugayafukiaezu-no-Mikoto.
The shrine stands in the Takono-cho Karakasugi area of Izumi, on the slopes of Mount Shibi. The autumn festival on 23 September features the Hyoroku Odori dance, a prefecturally designated folk cultural property. Visitors should check local access routes in advance, as the shrine is reached by rural roads.
The shrine's autumn festival on 23 September features the Hyōroku Odori, a dance reenacting the Satsuma retainer Ōishi Hyōroku's fox hunt; it is a folk cultural property designated by Kagoshima Prefecture. The shrine was listed as a prefectural shrine in 1872, and under the Shimazu lords of Satsuma it received an annual offering of 3 to 5 shō of rice.
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